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Good and Ugly
Good and Ugly is an episode from the original series of ThunderCats. Written by Peter Lawrence, it originally aired on December 4, 1985. Official Summary In this episode, a Kymera Craft, a sleek and visually appealing spaceship, pursues a Terator Starship, an extremely ugly spaceship. Manning these two ships, respectively, are the Terator and the Kymera. Like the Terator Starship, the Terator is an ugly creature; like the Kymera Craft, the Kymera is a beautiful creature. The Terator Starship escapes the attacking Kymera Craft and descends to Third Earth landing at the Cats' Lair. When Lion-O sees the Terator Starship and it fails to respond to his request for identification, Lion-O automatically assumes that the Terator Starship is evil and attacks the spaceship. In retaliation, the Terator uses laser beams rendering Lion-O immobile blocking his attempts to signal the other ThunderCats; even the Sword of Omens won't obey Lion-O. As the Terator begins to communicate with Lion-O, he insists that Lion-O attacked him first, that he means no harm, and that he is not Lion-O's enemy. The Kymera Craft reappears and the Terator Starship is shot down. The Kymera Craft returns to the Lair and the Kymera explains to Lion-O that the Terators are his enemies and that he is searching the galaxies for survivors of the latest Terator raids on his planet. Lion-O responds that this is exactly the same story the Terator told him about the Kymera. The Kymera warns Lion-O never trust a Terator and anyone can tell by their appearance that they are evil. As Lion-O doubts the Kymera's word, the Kymera attacks him. Lion-O realizes that the Kymera is evil and the Terator is good. As the Kymera Craft begins to leave the Cats' Lair, Lion-O summons the other ThunderCats with the Sword and they pursue the Kymera Craft in the Feliner. The Terator Starship returns and aids the Feliner in battling the Kymera Craft. Lion-O destroys the Kymera Craft with the Sword of Omens, and the Terator Starship is saved. Official Moral Lion-O and Snarf make the mistake of equating two aliens' looks with their character and intentions. Because they have never encountered a spaceship or creature like the Terator, and because its looks, mannerisms, and sounds are ugly and foreign to them, they consider it hostile and seek to defend themselves by attacking it. On the other hand, because the Kymera is handsome and pleasing, they assume it is friendly. When their assumptions are proven wrong, they and the other ThunderCats are forced to do battle to avoid the Kymera's destructive purposes and to help the Terator. Often our assumptions about others are based on peripheral in-characteristics rather than essential ones. Because some persons may be handsome or pretty, we judge them to be good, and because other persons are not pleasing in appearance, we view them to be bad. This episode represents a lesson we know from our own experiences to be true - that appearances may be deceiving and we must go beyond looks to determine the qualities of persons. In a broader context, the lesson can be extended to include how we use stereotypes, or generalized conceptions of other persons, races, or classes. While generalizations about other groups may serve a constructive purpose in helping us to identify and classify peoples, e.g., in teaching us the cultural mores of an ethnic group, they may also be the sustaining roots of prejudice. Prejudice consists of rigid and hostile attitudes directed towards a group or an individual because he is a member of a group. When our generalizations become unwarranted and applied indiscriminately to individuals, we are guilty of prejudicial attitudes and feelings. It is a difficult task to assure that our stereotypes and generalizations are not unfounded or used indiscriminately. We must always be on guard so that we do not fall victim to prejudicial thinking. Characters Vehicles Locations Trivia Goofs * At the end of the episode when the ThunderCats are bidding farewell to the Terrator, the Feliner is clearly visible parked right outside Cats Lair. But after the Terrator takes off and the Cats return to the Lair, the Feliner has disappeared. Notable Quotes Media This episode was released on the following media: DVD * Season 1 Volume 2 DVD * Season 1 DVD * Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Books Storybooks *Visitors from Space Comics External Links *Good and Ugly on IMDb *ThunderCats 1985 cartoon series on Wikipedia *ThunderCats on ThunderCats.org Category:ThunderCats episodes written by Peter Lawrence Category:Season 1 (ThunderCats 1980s)